Page 230 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Only to find himself thrown against the wall and being held in place by a large Night Child. Dirty blond hair hung to his shoulders, and he bared his fangs as another appeared to help detain him.
Cade and Rayell.
The whole lot of the vampyres were in on this.
“Stay back, St. Orcas,” Cade snarled.
“I’m going to kill you,” Axel promised, jerking hard against their hold. One he might have been able to handle, but two of the most powerful vampyres? There was a reason they held their places in the House of Four.
“Let him go,” a feminine voice lilted. “He’s so lost to his true nature, he’ll kill her anyway.”
“Axel!”
His name dissolved into another scream, and it was the only thing that could penetrate this bloody haze that wouldn’t let him go.
He shook his head, trying to focus, but everything was still tinted red. Cade. Rayell. The walls. The bed. Kat.
Kat.
He blinked, unable to believe what he was seeing. Trying to comprehend Kat on the bed, curled in on herself with tears streaming down her face. Then she was seizing and crying out again, her back arching as what was clearly a contraction tore through her.
Bree stepped in front of him, blocking her from view. Her long fingers gripped his face, and her nails dug in.
“Axel, darling,” she purred. “Color me impressed. I underestimated how long it would take you to get here. I hear you left quite the trail of destruction. The Underground is terrified of you.” Her head cocked to the side. “Thank you for that.”
Kat screamed again, this time clutching at her stomach, and his chest twisted in agony. He needed to get to her. She’d already done too much of this alone. There was no way he was going to let her give birth by herself.
Bree moved to the side, turning to watch Kat suffer on the bed.
“Poor thing,” she tutted. “She’s been in this state for hours.”
Hours.
That was all he’d heard.
“Nearly an entire day,” Bree added with faux sympathy. “Thinking she can stop this.” She crossed the room, leaning in to gather Kat’s hair in her hands. “But you can’t, can you, poppet? That babe is coming whether you like it or not.”
“Don’t fucking touch her!” Axel roared, surging forward and freeing one of his arms.
“Fuck,” Cade barked, trying to grab him again, but Axel was too fast.
He already had a knife in hand and was bringing it down. Cade shifted just in time, the blade sinking into his shoulder rather than his chest.
“Motherfucker!” Cade snarled, grabbing Axel and shoving him back into the wall so hard his head snapped against the stone, cracking loudly. Spots flashed in his already hazy vision, but Kat’s cry of agony reached him once more.
“Stop!” Axel yelled. “Let me help her! Let me go to her! Why don’t you have a Witch here?”
“She’s on her way,” Bree said calmly, her hands on Kat’s shoulders now. “Lie back, poppet.”
Kat shook her head frantically, panting, “Your father— The babe.”
Axel went still. He couldn’t have heard her right.
“Oh, poppet,” Bree tutted. “Spilling secrets I shared with you. Shame on you.” Kat cried out again, and Bree used the moment to help her onto her back. “See? Isn’t that better?”
“What about my father?” Axel demanded, pushing against Cade and Rayell, but they held firm. Cade looked like he wanted to punch him, the knife still in his shoulder, and Rayell looked…not exactly bored, but not like she cared either.
Bree reached for a nearby cloth, dipping it into a basin of water and wringing it out. “This is really your fault, you know,” she said, moving back to Kat and bringing the cloth to her brow. She smirked at the low growl that rumbled from Axel. “I tried to let you be a part of this. Tried to bring you to my side. Even said you could have the Fae and the child. But you didn’t want any part of that, did you?”
